News
Find news releases and announcements about the agency in our virtual newsroom.
Despite extra work caused by cold winters, regional repair project creates smoother ride on 17 bridges
If the past two winters seemed a little more harsh than usual to you, our bridges felt it, too.
Correction: New SR 302 Spur bridge opening in Purdy Dec. 2
PURDY - Starting Saturday, Dec. 2, travelers will no longer have to detour around the SR 302 Spur in Purdy when the new bridge opens to traffic.
Amtrak Cascades adds two more daily roundtrips starting Dec. 11
OLYMPIA – Just in time for the holidays, WSDOT and ODOT are starting two additional Amtrak Cascades daily roundtrips between Seattle and Portland. Beginning Monday, Dec. 11, more trains will run in both directions – for a total of 12 trains every day between the two most popular cities on the route.
Climate mitigation and the Highway System Plan
The draft Highway System Plan (HSP) addresses many diverse and complex issues, one of which is Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG).
Finding salmon in Purdy Creek and opening the new SR 302 Spur bridge
As Gill said in Finding Nemo, “Fish aren’t made to be in a box, kid.” And even if many drains do lead to the ocean, fish may not be able to swim through some culverts along the way. Now, fish won’t struggle to pass under the State Route 302 Spur in Purdy.
Work wraps up at two fish barrier projects in Jefferson County
QUILCENE – It was a busy summer in Jefferson County opening habitats for local fish. Two big projects, one on US 101 and the other on State Route 104 and SR 19, have wrapped up.
Replacing the Elwha River Bridge
After serving the Olympic Peninsula for almost 100 years, the beloved Elwha River Bridge has reached the end of its useful life
That’s a wrap: Highway construction from Yakima to Walla Walla winds down for 2023
YAKIMA – The approach of the calendar year’s end brings with it a number of significant highway construction milestones. With so many improvements made on highways between Yakima and Walla Walla in 2023, here is a brief recap of some of the Washington State Department of Transportation’s construction activity across…
Opening the next section of the North Spokane Corridor: full completion now in sight
Whether you’ve lived in Spokane your whole life, or just recently moved to the Lilac City, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard or perhaps uttered these eight words: “It will never be built in my lifetime.” Sometimes those eight words come in the form of a rhetorical eight-word question: “Will it ever be built in…
Nearly 300,000 stuffing onto ferries for Thanksgiving
SEATTLE – Carve out some extra time if your Thanksgiving travel plans include a state ferry ride. In addition to the long vehicle lines over holiday weekends, all passengers should prepare for possible last-minute schedule changes. Edmonds/Kingston route travelers should plan for reduced one-boat service due to…
Slow down – lives are on the line.
In 2023, speeding continued to be a top reason for work zone crashes.
Even one life lost is too many.
Fatal work zone crashes doubled in 2023 - Washington had 10 fatal work zone crashes on state roads.
It's in EVERYONE’S best interest.
95% of people hurt in work zones are drivers, their passengers or passing pedestrians, not just our road crews.